Glove with seamless crotches



Sept. 30, 1941; A, ATES ET 2,257,492

GLOVE WITH SEAMLESS CROTCHES Filed June 22, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY Sept. 30, 1941. A. BATES ET AL 2,257,492

GLOVE WITH SEAMLESS CROTC HES Filed June 22 1959 2 Sheets-Sheei 2 ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 30, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GLOVE WITH SEAMLESS CROTCHES Alice Bates and Harry Bates, NewYork, N; Y. Application June 22, 1939, SerialNo; 280,646

Claims.

This invention relates to wearing appareland more particularly refers to improvements in the manufacture of gloves.

In order to conform to the shape of the hand and to provide a perfect fit a glove should have crotches slanting from front to rear. In gloves of the'type heretofore most commonly in use wherethe digit extensions of the back and front portions of the glove are connected by fourchettes which extend from the crotch to the tip of each finger, as well as in glove of more recent design in which the fourchettes extend from crotch to crotch around the tip of each finger, the slanting construction of the crotches is obtained by cutting-the base edge of each fourchette at an angle inclined from front to rear and joining by stitching the base edges of adjoining fourchettes.

This method of construction, where the front to rear stitching at the crotch coincides with the crease'or folding line of the crotch, causes the seam at the crotch to be plainly visible whether the fingers are closed or spread apart, thus detracting from the good appearance of theglove, especially when the sewing is rough or uneven as is frequently the case.

Furthermore, the roughness deriving from the stitching at that point is felt between the fingers and sometimes results in chafing; also the construction is weak because the seam is subject to constant strain and is likely to break open. It may be added that since imperfect aligning of the seam from front to rear is at once apparent to the eye, the sewing of a glove of good quality requires considerable sewing skill.

In a glove such as described in the U..S. patent to Alice Bates, No. 2,156,140, in which a continuous fourchette strip is used, part of the objections which may be advanced against a seamed crotch have been met by limiting the stitching to the" front part of the folding line at the crotch so that the seam can easily be made with a perfeet-alignment and furthermore, becomes scarcely visible. However, the possibility of roughness and chafing to a certain extent still remain.

It is, therefore, apparent that a seam along the folding line at the crotch is undesirable from both the standpoint of appearance and comfort. Accordinglyfithe primary object of our invention. is to provide, in a glove, a novel and improved construction of crotch whereby the appearance,

comfort and durability of the glove will begreatly enhanced.

Another object is to provide a special insert construction of crotch whereby a crotchwithout a seamalong its folding =line can be produced,

said constructionpermitting at the same time an eflicient utilization of the material from which a glove is made, resultingin arelatively low cost of manufacture.

A further object is" to provide, in a glove, a noveland improved construction of continuous fourchette strip making it possible to utilize scraps of material which would otherwise be wasted, while retaining the advantages pertaining to the-use of a continuous fourchette strip with'the added advantages deriving from the use of crotches with a seamless folding line.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will more fully appear as the description proceeds and'will be set forth and claimed in the appended claims.

Our invention is'illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a viewinperspective of a glove embodying one of the forms of ourinvention;

' Fig. 2 is a similar View of a glove embodying our inventionin an alternative form;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a fourchette running from the tip of a finger to the tip of an adjoining finger, 'made integral with a crotch portion embodying our invention;

Fig. 4 is a similar view-in which the crotch portion is inthe form of an insert connecting the two individual fourchettes;

Fig. 5-is a fragmentary plan view of the crotch portions between two adjoining fourchettes, in which the crotch insert has an outline different from that shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. dis a fragmentary plan view of a continuous fourcliette strip made up of fourchette elements, adapted to run from side to side of eachfinger, and crotch inserts embodying our invention, intervening therebetween;

Fig; 71s a view similar to Fig. 5, illustrating a still different form of crotch insert;

T Fig-8 is a similar View illustrating a crotch insert embodying our invention in an alternative form, in which the seamless portion of the folding line of' the crotch constitutes the major part of said folding line at the rear;

Fig; 9 is a view similar to Figs. 5, '7 and 8, illustrating a crotch insert having a still different outline; and

Fig. 10-is a plan view, in a reduced scale, of.a continuous fourchette strip made up of:'four chette elements and crotchinserts intervening therebetween, said stripbeing shown in its extended condition.

Referring to Fig; l, .l ll'designates a glove, which is shown exposed from the back, with fthe index finger II and middle finger I2 spread apart to expose the crotch formed by an insert I3 interposed between and connecting the two individual fourchettes l4 and I5.

As the drawings clearly show, the crotch insert, which is shown in greater detail in Fig, 4 where the two fourchettes and the insert connecting them appear in their extended condition, consists of a segmental piece roughly equivalent to one-quarter of-a disk and having for its radius substantially the width of the base of the ad joining fourchettes, the apex of said segment coinciding with the front end of the folding line of the crotch and the two edges diverging from said apex being connected by linesiofstitchin'g I6, II, to the inner end edges of the fourchettes.

By virtue of this construction the two'fourchettes are directed practically at right angles to each other so that when the resultings'tructure,

is folded along a line bisecting the crotch insert the two fourchettes will remain opposite each other; side by side, and the crotch will be inclined to fit the slanted front to rear surface between the fingers of the hand, the folding line of the crotch being absolutely smooth and seamless.

In the glove l8 shown in Fig. 2, theadjoining fourchettes of adjoining fingers are made integral with the crotch portion, the resulting fourchette structure being of the type shown in Fig. 3, that is, being in all respects similar to that shown in Fig. 4 except that the two individual fourchettes I4, I are made in one piece with the crotch portion I3. V

This one-piece construction, which is entirely devoid of seams, not only along the folding line of the crotch but also in proximity of it, is quite suitable for. dress gloves and gloves of an expensive character made with fourchettes which reach up to the tip of each finger but do not run over it from side toside.

'If desired, it can, of course, also be used in a one-piece continuous fourchette strip but practical experience has shown thata properly shaped continuous fourchette strip, if made of a single piece of material, requires an excessive amount of material, resulting in considerable waste and e a well nigh prohibitive cost. a

In view of the advantages deriving from the use of a continuous fourchette strip, which advantages have been pointed out in the above mentioned patent, we prefer to use our present invention in connection with such a type of strip; but in order to realize the greatest efficiency in the use of the material, we prefer to make the strip out of individualelements, which may be obtained from such scraps of skin as remain after the bulk of it has been used for producing the back and palm portions of the glove.

For instance, in Fig. 10 'we illustrate this preferred construction of continuous fourchette strip in which I9 represents the portion of the strip running from the base of the wrist of the glove to and around the tip of the little finger and down the inner side thereof to a point in proximity of the crotchbetween the little finger and the third finger; designating the portion running along the outer side of the little finger, 2| representing the portion running along the inner side of the little finger, and 22 representing the intermediate portion which is bent around the tip of the little finger.

The portion 2| is connected to the adjoining fourchette element 23-24 by a crotch insert 25, which is similar to the crotch insert shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

The fourchette element 2324 runs from the crotch between the little and third finger to the crotch between the third and middle finger, the intermediate portion 26 running over the tip of the third finger. In a similar manner, said fourchette element 23-24 is connected by a crotch insert 21 to the fourchette element 28-29 running from the crotch between the third and middle fingers to the crotch between the middle finger and the index finger, 30 indicating the intermediate portion of said fourchette element running over the tip of the middle finger.

Finally, said fourchette element is connected by a crotch insert 3| to the fourchette element 32-33 for the index finger, the intermediate portion 34 running over the tip of the index finger and the portion 33 running along the outer side of the middle. finger and down to a point in proximity of the crotch between the index finger and the thumb.

The fourchette strip is shown in its finished pre-trimmed condition where the sides of each fourchette element taper towards the interme diate portion corresponding to the tip of the finger. If preferred, however, the fourchette elements may be made of uniform width, as'indicated by the dot and dash lines 35, 36, etc., and may be trimmed to a taper after the rear or front edge of the strip has been joined to the back or palm portion of the glove, as the case may be.

Although we prefer to build up the continuous; strip in advance, in order to realize the-labor economies resulting from the possibility of a continuous sewing operation in connecting thestrip to the back and front portions of the glove, it is within the scope of our invention to make up the strip gradually by stitching each piece in position as the glove is being made. in V A crotch insert embodying our invention need not be restricted tothe outline shown in Figs. 1, 4 and 10, but may be made in a variety of other shapes.

For instance, in Fig.5 we illustrate a substantially triangular crotch insert 3'! interposed between fourchette elements 38,, 39, saidv crotch insert having its apex at the rear. 1

In Fig. 6 we show a crotch insert 40 in the. form of an elbow extending a certain distance at each end towards the tip of the adjoining,

crotch being formed by a short line of stitching,

43 between the portions of the adjoining fourchettes meeting at such point.

Finally, in Fig. 9 we show still another crotchinsert 44 interposed between fourchette elements 45, 46, said crotch insert having two tapering extensions 41, 48, dovetailing within the corre-:

spondingly notched inner ends of the fourchette elements, the result being a line of stitching of novel and decorative design. I

Minor details of design and construction of gloves embodying our invention may vary to a.

certain extent from those shown and described Without departing from the inventive idea.

The drawings should,-therefore, be understood a llbfeingljintended 'for illustrative purposes only and no in a' imit n sense- V We, accordingly, r serve the right to carry our inventioniintofpracticelin all those ways and manners which mayentengfairly, into the scope of'the appendedclaims.

We claim:

1.. Inaglove comprising back and palm portions;having.;,corresponding digit extensions separated by slits,'the slits between the digit extensions of the back portion extending to a greater depth than the slits between the corresponding digit extensions of the palm portion, fourchettes connecting the corresponding digit extensions of the back and palm portions, and crotch inserts stitched to the inner ends of adjoining fourchettes, said inserts constituting substantially right angled elbow connections between said fourchettes, when each set of two adjoining fourchettes and crotch insert intervening therebetween are extended in a common plane.

2. In a glove comprising back and palm portions having corresponding digit extensions separated by slits, the slits between the digit extensions of the back portion extending to a greater depth than the slits between the corresponding digit extensions of the palm portion, fourchettes connecting the corresponding digit extensions of the back and palm portions, and crotch inserts stitched to the inner ends of adjoining fourchettes, each insert extending for the entire width of said fourchettes, and having side connecting edges diverging from front to rear, whereby the folding of each insert will result in a seamless folding line.

3. In a glove comprising back and palm portions having corresponding digit extensions separated by slits, the slits between the digit extensions of the back portion extending to a greater depth than the slits between the corresponding digit extensions of the palm portion, fourchettes connecting the corresponding digit extensions of the back and palm portions, the inner end edge of said fourchettes being cut substantially at right angles to the rear edge thereof, and crotch inserts stitched to the inner ends of adjoining fourchettes, each insert extending for the entire width of said fourchettes and having side connecting edges diverging from front to rear substantially at right angles to each other when in a flattened condition, whereby the folding of each insert will result in a seamless folding line inclined at substantially 45 degrees.

4. In a glove comprising back and palm portions having corresponding digit extensions separated by slits, the slits between the digit extensions of the .back portion extending to a greater depth than the slits between the corresponding digit extensions of the palm portion, fourchettes extending uninterruptedly from side to side of each finger around the tip end thereof, connecting the corresponding digit extensions of the back and palm portions, and crotch inserts stitched to the inner ends of adjoining fourchettes, at least the rear portion of each insert extending without a seam from side to side of the folding line thereof, the front edges of adjoining fourchettes and crotch insert intervening therebetween forming a right angle having a substantially sharp apex when said fourchettes and crotch insert are extended in a common plane.

5. In a glove comprising back and palm portions having corresponding digit extensions separated by slits, the slits between the digit extensions; oftheback portion extending .to 'a greater depth-than the: slits betweenthe corresponding digifiextensions of the palm, portion, fourchettes extending,uninterruptedly from side to. side of each finger aroundgthe tip end thereof, connecting the corresponding digit extensions, of the back and palm portions, and crotch inserts stitched to the-inner ends of adjoining fourchettes, each insert extendingwithout a seamfrom side to side of the folding linethereof, the'fron't edges of ad joining fourchettes and crotch insert intervening therebetween forming a right angle having a substantially sharp apex when said fourchettes and crotch insert are extended in a common plane.

6. For use in a glove comprising back and palm portions having corresponding digit extensions separated by slits, the slits between the digit extensions of the back portion extending to a greater depth than the slits between the corresponding digit extensions of the palm portion, a continuous fourchette strip adapted to be interposed between and connect said two portions to form therebetween a continuous connection following the outline of a plurality of said digit extensions, said strip consisting of fourchette portions extending from side to side of each finger, around the tip end thereof, and crotch portions intervening between adjoining fourchette portions, forming right angled elbow connections therebetween, said crotch portions extending without a seam from side to side of the folding line thereof.

7. For use in a glove comprising back and palm portions having corresponding digit extensions separated by slits, the slits between the digit extensions of the back portion extending to a greater depth than the slits between the corresponding digit extensions of the palm portion, a continuous fourchette strip adapted to be interposed between and connect said two portions to form therebetween a continuous connection following the outline of a plurality of said digit extensions, said strip consisting of fourchette portions extending from side to side of each finger, around the tip end thereof, and crotch inserts intervening between and stitched to adjoining fourchette portions, forming right angled elbow connections therebetween, said crotch inserts exten-ding without a seam from side folding line thereof.

8. In a glove comprising back and palm portions having corresponding digit extensions separated by slits, the slits between the digit extensions of the back portion extending to a greater depth than the slits between the corresponding digit extensions of the palm portion, fourchettes connecting the corresponding digit extensions of the back and palm portions, the inner end of said fourchettes having a tapering recess, and crotch inserts connecting the inner ends of adjoining fourchettes, sai-d inserts having tapering extensions registering with and stitched to the sides of the recesses of said adjoining fourchettes, and forming right angled elbow connections therebetween.

9. A glove comprising front and back trank members having slits inward from one edge to produce separate finger covering portions, fourchette strips with opposite edges seamed along the edges of said portions to unite the same, said fourchette strips ending at points short of the crotch locations of said finger portions and quirks positioned at said crotch locations having a corner directed toward the palm and a portion opto side of the posite .said corner toward the back of the glove,

the sides of said quirks adjacent said carrier being seamed to the ends of said fourchette strips and the sides of said quirks adjacent said portion 'opposite being seamed to the edges of said back trank member defining said finger portions.

10. In a glove comprising front and back trank members having slits inward fr'omoneedge to produce separate finger covering portions, a con- Vtinuous fourchette strip with opposite edges 10,

seamed along the edges of said portions to unite the same, said strip consisting of a series of four- .chettes extending uninterruptedly from side to ALICE BATES. i HARRY BATES. 

